R Ashwin’s ‘Mankading’ of Jos Buttler and MS Dhoni stepping out on the to discuss a controversial no-ball discussion after being dismissed are two incidents that caught attention during the ongoing season of Indian Premier League.

Former ICC Elite Panel Umpire Simon Taufel on Saturday said that R Ashwin’s controversial ‘Mankad’ run out of Jos Buttler in the Indian Premier League 2019 had nothing to do with ‘spirit of cricket’. In a piece written for ESPNcricinfo, Taufel argued: “The intent of the law (Law 41.16) is that the non-striker should not leave their ground at the bowler’s end before the ball is delivered. This is why the ICC has stipulated within their regulations and interpretations that the bowler can dismiss the non-striker run out up until the bowler’s arm reaches the top of the delivery swing.”

“I go back to the intent of Law 41.16, which is to ensure the non-striker stays in the crease until the moment of release. If the non-striker does not do that, he or she is breaching the Law. It is he or she who is gaining an unfair advantage,” he added.

Taufel further said that “character assassination of Ashwin” is unfair in the way the Laws are written. “All Ashwin did was appeal to the umpire for a run-out dismissal. He stopped short of delivering the ball and did not go through with his delivery swing. For him to be subject to adverse commentary that amounted to character assassination regarding his supposed contravention of the spirit of the game, is incredibly unfair in the way the Laws are written and the way they are to be applied,” he said.

Speaking on accusations that Ashwin’s action were premeditated, Taufel said: “People also accused Ashwin of premeditation. My response to that would be: well, so what? Bowlers attempt to get batsmen out lbw, bowled, caught, or by any other form of dismissal. Aren’t all these premeditated? So I don’t see how that is a relevant argument at all.”

Further addressing the criticism that the bowler should have warned Buttler, the former official said: “I also found it interesting that many pundits and players have spoken about how Ashwin should have given Buttler a warning. Giving a warning is a myth; there is nothing in the Laws about it. Given that the ICC Cricket Committee and the MCC have made it clear how they want the game to be played, why is such a warning required? If the non-striker does not want to be run out at the bowler’s end backing up, then they must stay in their ground until the ball leaves the bowler’s hand.”

Taufel further said that he spoke to Ashwin about the incident: “I was in India and spoke to Ashwin soon after the incident. I reaffirmed to him that it was unfair and not appropriate for various people to pull him up for breaching the spirit of cricket. I made contact with him to make sure he was fine and not affected by the comments, and to support him on a human level. I told him he was within his rights to appeal and to attempt to run out the non-striker.”

Taufel went on to spoke about MS Dhoni’s incident when he returned to the field to discuss a controversial no-ball decision with the umpires, after being given out. Speaking on why he does not agree with the actions of Chennai Super Kings’ skipper, the 48-year-old said: “But non-participating players or even coaches and managers entering the field of play to approach an umpire is not right. MS acknowledged this by accepting and pleading guilty to the charge imposed by the IPL match officials.”

“I would have preferred personally that the umpires did not even talk to him, and instead asked him to go away and not involved themselves in a discussion with him at the time. It is important that umpires don’t let themselves be surrounded by players, and that they make their decisions without any perception of being influenced,” he added.

The Australian further explained the rules regarding no-balls related to full toss above waist-level heights. “While the square-leg umpire can raise their arm to signal a wide or a no-ball to their colleague, they are not calling it. Let us be very clear: it is the jurisdiction of the bowler’s-end umpire, with support from the square-leg umpire,” he said.

Talking about the confusion in the middle, the former umpire said: “In this particular case the no-ball was signalled by the bowler’s-end umpire, who stuck his arm out without waiting to confirm the height judgment with his colleague at square leg. And the square-leg umpire himself had not signalled a no-ball. So the bowler’s-end umpire perhaps second-guessed himself and (then) decided to retract or discontinue the no-ball call process.”

Taufel said that even though, he believes the umpire should have stuck to his original call, Dhoni should not have come out in the middle. “I would have much preferred to have seen the umpire at the bowler’s end back himself and be confident with his original call, because from the officiating perspective, normally your first call or gut instinct is the right one. The replays I have seen seem to support the original call in this case,” he said.

“Be that as it may, there is no reason for the batting captain to come onto the field and contest the decision or seek clarification while the match is in progress. In this case, Dhoni did cross the line,” he added.

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